Dining Rooms of Maison Bleu

The Dining Rooms of Maison Bleu

Imagine yourself on a leisurely tour of Provence, winding up in a small out of the way place visited only when the Tour de France comes through every five or six years. Not a large city, but rather a town with some local charm, not very far removed from the pastoral setting of the local wine country punctuated with fields of lavender and sun flowers. This small town with some local charm opens itself up to pilgrims traveling far from home as easily as it does to regular visitors, and the local residents. Right there, sitting at its main cross roads, Town Center , a facility unlike any other structure in the vicinity; providing a sense of belonging, purpose and community.

At the corner of Town Center resides a unique establishment, Maison Bleu. The corner façade is comprised of a simple factory brick finish with lots of sun loving windows on the first and second floors. Enter the front door and be greeted at the maitre d’ station, which provides some separation from the dining room with a pair of lounging benches. However, it seems you are yet again on the outside. The main entrance is below an interior mezzanine that borders a two-story atrium dining room. This provides the effect of an outdoor plaza or courtyard where diners find themselves at the foundation of Maison Bleu. The finish of the main interior wall has the appearance of the exterior of another building, completed in blue clapboard complete with bay window and ironwork accents, which houses the kitchen downstairs, and provides for the private dining room upstairs.

The visual impact is compounded by over a dozen chandeliers of various sizes and designs hanging from the 28-foot upper ceiling filling the void with the lights of nearly five hundred flickering lamps. The featured backdrop of the main dining room is the floor to ceiling wall a serving station featuring early 20^th century oversized European poster art. Opposite this display is the restaurant’s namesake, Bleu, displayed in a place of honor in his Crab outfit from “Two Gentlemen of Verona”.

Mounting the stairs to the mezzanine level, you find yourself on a very comfortable perch above the diners below. The view of the courtyard below is equally matched by a Trompe L’oielle rendition of sunlit clouds lazily floating through a deep blue sky in the peak of the corner tower, above the sunny country French yellow and white walls and windows of the mezzanine. From this vantage you can also appreciate the faux rust finish on the industrial beams and columns that have been exposed in order to enhance the sense of dining outdoors.

Finally, there is Salon Vert. A charming green room that provides all the amenities necessary for a private dining experience. Accented with a stamped metal ceiling and pinewood mantel piece, this room is at once urbane, yet comforting with the sense that many close friends have enjoyed the company of one another throughout the years.

If you are familiar with Maison Bleu, you know the food is extraordinary. If you are a first-time visitor, we hope this will encourage you to explore our menu in its new setting. So, rather than spoil the surprise by describing all the details, we invite you to see for yourself what promises to be the start of a renaissance in downtown Watkinsville:

Maison Bleu

A Unique Space in Downtown Watkinsville

Because You've Been Very, Very Good